Chime
by des10y
Summary: Zim and Dib have been fighting for years. Now there both 16 and in High-Skool. When Dib notices that Zim is hiding something from him, he's willing to go the extra mile to test his weak points and get the answer out of him. But what will happen when so many new feelings that Zim doesn't understand arise? What if some of those feelings are towards Dib?


**A/N:** Hi everybody! This is my first fan-fiction EVER! I don't really expect this to get much reviews sadly :( But still, please try to enjoy! I will continue onto the second chapter even if this doesn't get any reviews... or favorites... or follows (I'm still not used to this XD), but i at least want some... i mean, come on :0

Comments of any size, sort and shape are GREATLY appreciated. Just keep it appropriate and not too mean.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Invader Zim, and if i did it wouldn't end up being meant for children XD

Zim stared up at the ceiling lazily from his bed, his ruby-red eyes glazing over as they only stopped to blink. He doesn't remember the last time he had moved; and for some reason, he found that there was really no need to. He gave out a loud sigh and unwillingly got up from his previous position, rolling off his bed until he found that his feet were flat on the rug.

Today is what a human would call a 'birth-day'. He forgot how old he really was in Irken years, but for humans, he was about 15. It was a time of celebration, life, and happiness.

But Zim felt none of those things.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY~!" a familiar, screechy voice chimed throughout the peace and quiet of Zim's room.

"Gir, not now…" Zim exasperatedly said as Gir broke down the door and flew high through the air with a platter he held tightly in his hands, waffles piling up until they were threatened to collapse. On the very top was one lit candle, syrup and butter running down the sides until they landed on his carpet.

"Make a WISH!" Gir emphasized the last word, placing the platter on his bed which was facing Zim.

"Gir! Get out this instant!" he felt unwanted anger rising up in him.

Gir looked up at him sadly from behind the platter, the robot starting to sniff from Zim's rejection. "But why?"

"Because I said so!"

"MAKE A WISH!"

"NEVER!"

"DO IT NOW!"

Zim hissed, slapping his face in frustration and climbing back onto his bed to blow out the one candle. "There. Now leave me alone." The words came out a bit too coldly, but Gir didn't seem to mind or care.

"OKAY!" Gir picked up the platter and skipped out of the room humming, leaving a trail of the gooey waffles behind him.

Zim looked at the remnants of his once tidy room; the syrup and butter that would now forever stain his carpet, his bed which was now practically unnoticeably a bed, and the trail of waffles that led out of his room to who-knows-where. But he didn't care. Not even one bit. In fact, there wasn't much need for him to have a bed let alone a room; he only 'slept' to recharge his pak. He only made a room for himself to make his house look more realistically like a humans, not that one of them should ever travel this far down his house anyway. Zim looked sourly at the mess as if it should clean itself up and that he shouldn't bother. He'll just make a new room.

But this isn't the reason he felt so cold.

It was because after five years that he finally understood. Finally understood that he wasn't wanted. Since a while ago, he figured out that the Tallest really didn't have a need for him or his motives. He was sent so far away from his home planet Irk, because they didn't want him. It wasn't because they wanted him to destroy Earth to satisfy their needs, they wanted him away, _far_ away so that they didn't have to hear from him. Hell, they probably even doubted he could destroy the damned planet anyways. There were too many times to count how he tried to contact his home planet. It was obvious now that there wasn't going to be an answer from the day he had started. But maybe the reason he did it was to tell him he wasn't alone. To tell him that was needed.

He could go back. But what would be the point? If he were to go back he would be banished as a minion of Sizz-Lorr on Foodcourtia again. Just another way to show how much they care for him. But to be lied to so obviously for all of his life and to not even notice it once until now, what did that make him?

Zim's head began to spin as he held it in confusion and frustration. How could he not have noticed? Surely he wasn't this naïve.

Shaking his head, he turned himself towards the window, looking over at the planet he was forced to inhabit in. It was early in the morning; the sun was rising, the birds were chirping, there was slight fog off in the distance with a light coat of dew that laid on the grass; it all just sickened him. This would also be just about the time he would be going off to High-Skool. The humans that ruled Earth would probably be better off not going to Skool though, since the lack of knowledge they knew was laughable.

Zim rested his head on the wall that was conveniently right next to him, emotionally tired from reality. He would leave this planet soon, _very_ soon. He would go on to destroy other planets, but not for the good of the Tallest; but the good of himself. He wouldn't worship them as he used to; in fact, he vowed revenge on the Tallest for doubting his abilities. They'd regret what they did to him.

As his head laid against the wall of his room and as he continued to stare aimlessly out the window in front of him, he noticed a familiar figure running towards the odd house. It was a tall, stalky figure but at the same time somewhat built. Glasses, black coat, jet black hair smoothed back… if it wasn't obvious now, Zim wouldn't have known what was.

He knew he'd come. Just not at what point.

"I mean, what do you think he's up to? Zim's been out for four weeks! Four weeks, Gaz! How come nobody's noticed it yet!?" Dib ranted on, not really caring if his sister was listening to him or not. And it was a good thing too, because she didn't as they walked to the bus stop. At times she'd grunt at his comments before continuing to jamming her thumbs into the buttons on her new Game Slave 3. Gaz got it the day before, and it was defiantly better than listening to her brother rant about Zim by far.

"What kind of alien-crap do you think he's up to now, Gaz?" The lack of response told Dib that he might as well have been talking to nobody at all. Running a hand through his slick, greasy hair, a new idea popped into Dib's head. It involved him being late for Skool, but did he really care about that? Dib barley learned anything there anyways.

"Hey, Gaz," Dib stopped and stared down at his sister who kept walking.

He had grown taller since he was 11, so over the past five years he'd grown about two feet, reaching barely over six feet tall. Gaz was only about 5'2, but she still had the upper hand in being the most… convincing. She kept walking.

"Keep on walking moron, or were going to be late for school,"

"Go on without me, I'm going to go check something out."

Her voice turned threateningly low and she almost stopped for a second. "I swear, Dib, if you get me in trouble, I'm going to-," but it was too late.

Running from no one, Dib headed straight towards his destination, eyes locked on getting an answer. Zim's house wasn't too far away from where the bus stop was, and if being late for Skool meant the possibility of saving the world from Zim's destruction, then he'd do it any day.

Dib stopped abruptly at the white fence gate of Zim's house, wiping the light layer of sweat that was collecting on his forehead. He peered easily over the top of the fence to the lawn gnomes which were lined up neatly one in front of the other. But their eyes weren't red. They didn't move nor did they turn as Dib slowly opened the cheap plastic gate and stepped on Zim's property. He was a bit confused into why they weren't on; they were _always_ on. Dib decided it was probably one of Zim's tricks, and to not let his guard down. He quickly sprinted up to the front door, bringing his clenched hand up to knock on the wooden material.

"Zim! Open up this door now!" No answer. Dib gritted his teeth, the knocking turning into banging. "I know your there Zim, so just come out!" Taking on a more childish approach, he smirked. "Or are you too afraid?" That got him.

Zim opened the door slowly and didn't say anything as Dib stared down at him with a mixture of confusion and surprise.

Why wasn't he in his disguise?

It's not like it wasn't obvious before that he was an alien, but now it was even more noticeable. His dark ruby-red eyes glared, but they didn't look as enthusiastic. His antennas stuck up on a slant, but were more curved then they usually would have been. His skin was still green, but it looked more… pale. And where were those snide remarks he should have been making?

"Yes?" he asked in a flat manner.

Dib was taken off guard. He now knew something was _defiantly_ wrong with Zim. He just didn't know what.

At a loss of words, Dib tried to think up something to say… perhaps he could throw a hurtful comment his way or a quickly thought up threat for him to stop plotting his evils. Instead, Dib stood awkwardly at Zim's front door, mouth agape, and at times it would close as if he were about to say something. Scoffing, Zim closed the door on him. _What the hell just happened?_ Dib thought. Without realizing it, Dib began to bang on the door again, this time it was more demanding.

"Zim! ZIM! God dammit!" Dib yelled in frustration, caressing the soar hand he was banging on the door with. He had to be there for a good ten minutes now. Where was Gir?

"Yeeesss~?" Gir sang happily, disguised in his regular green-dog attire. _Well, speak of the devil_, Dib thought, sighing in relief of finally getting an answer.

"I need to see Zim right now, Gir!"

"Well then, come right in!" the robot left the door open walking away, allowing Dib to come in himself. Dib looked around at the strange décor that he had passed many times. Zim could have at least tried after all these years to make it look somewhat normal.

"Where is he?"

"He's in his room. Here's a WAFFLE!" Gir held out a waffle happily to Dib and with the other arm he pointed to the direction to Zim's room.

"Uhm… no thanks, Gir," declining the waffle, Dib quickly sprinted in the direction to Zim's room. He was confused as he found a trail of waffles leading to the door, even more confused as he saw how banged up the door was itself. Turning the doorknob quickly, he entered Zim's room.

"Zim, tell me what's going on right now-," he stopped when he saw Zim leaning against the wall staring out of his window.

Not only was the hallway a mess, Dib found Zim's room was as well. His bed was turned, the carpet looked dirty and sticky with something sweet-smelling emanating from it, and various waffles lined the walls. Dib decided this was either one of Zim's weird ways of decorating or Gir had a seizure in his room. Brushing it off, he made his way towards Zim.

"Zim, tell me what's going on _right now_," Dib repeated and got closer. As he did though, he heard a gnarled sound followed by a mash-up of unrecognizable words. There was a short pause before Zim sighed, turning to Dib with a look of hatred.

"I should kill you for entering my house, but since I'm not in the mood I'll spare your pathetic life."

Dib ignored his threat and continued to walk towards him. "What kind of tricks are you trying to pull, Zim? Where's the catch? What kind of plot are you planning to destroy Earth with now?"

Everything in Zim's eyes was going slow. Dib wouldn't stop walking. Why wouldn't he just stop walking? Couldn't he see that he wasn't well?

"You," Zim pointed an accusing finger straight at Dib who stopped walking to listen to what he had to say. Dib was either crazy or insane to push Zim so far, but for some reason he didn't really seem to care. "You _disgusting_ worm-baby! Quit walking and leave! You're making me _sick_ with that face of yours! Can't you see that you don't belong here? GET OUT!"

"No! Not until you tell me what you're planning!"

By now Zim would have used his pak to throw Dib out of his window, or even just have taken in the advantage of killing him there, but for some reason, he didn't. As much as he hated to admit it, Zim felt weak, a feeling that never should have rested within his ego. He didn't want to feel weak, he never should _have_ to feel weak, and it was even worse now that Dib was standing right in front of him. He was mocking him. And Zim just couldn't take it.

Thinking up of a quick getaway, Zim ducked and dashed through Dib's legs, sprinting to the door of his bedroom. Just as he was about to reach the handle of the door, he felt something grab ahold of his hand.

"Hey! You're not getting away just yet!"

Zim scoffed, but he was somewhat surprised to find the way Dib's hand felt in his. It wasn't like they hadn't touched at all before; they fought each other numerous times, but that was all filled with hatred. But this felt… different; it was gentler, kinder in a way. A warm feeling rose in Zim's chest, a pleasant feeling he didn't know. This only convinced him to find an escape and get Dib out of his house faster. As he almost managed to break free, Dib used his free hand to grab ahold of Zim's waist and pull him closer to himself so he wouldn't have such a high chance of escape. The feeling rose up to Zim's face. He felt weird as he was pulled in closer to Dib's chest, feeling his ragged breathing on the back of his neck. What was this strange feeling, and why was Dib holding him like that? Why wasn't he trying to hurt him or demand the answer like he usually did? Gasping for air, Zim gritted his teeth.

"Let go of me!"

"Then just tell me!"

Zim stopped struggling and let his body hang limp in Dib's arms. This was a weird day indeed, very much so emotionally for the both of them. Dib gave up trying to think Zim was actually up to something evil; even if he was he wouldn't be this good at covering it up like he was now. There was also the other fact that Zim wasn't attacking him at all. Dib released his grip, letting Zim's body steady itself before fully letting go.

Zim's voice was low now, his head down as Dib went around trying to read his expression. "Dib, it's none of your business. Now _leave,_" The last word slithered out, hissing and almost dripping with venom. But Dib only paused. Glancing down at Zim whose face was still concealed, he heavily sighed.

"Fine. But don't think that I won't get the answer out of you."

And he was out. Zim remained still in his room, listening to the sound of Dib's light footsteps getting fainter and fainter, the quiet slam indicating he had fully left. Zim fell back to his bed, resting a hand on his forehead. He cursed at himself, why was he acting so weird? He wanted to kill Dib, but he just couldn't. He wanted to forget all that happened, forget that the tallest didn't care. He wasn't the same, and Zim didn't like that one bit.

He also wanted to forget the way Dib was acting to him.

Zim always found humans so gross and useless, but even he couldn't deny how soft and smooshy Dib's hand felt in his. He remembered the many times when he saw two humans, couples as they called them, hand in hand right beside each other. He would also find them embracing each other, or even weirder was when they would 'kiss'. Zim didn't get humans at all and how they could be so close to each other. You could never give so much trust into somebody, and this rule practically was the most important in Zim's head.

Dare might he say it too but… Zim actually enjoyed being with Dib, at least for today.

Catching that thought in midair, Zim banished it from his mind. He didn't like Dib. He would never like Dib.

Dib was bound to be in trouble for school now; he was nearly two hours late. He found it odd though, being that it only felt like a quick 15 minutes had passed by at Zim's house.

Hands shoved in the pockets of his sleek-black lab coat, he thought about what had happened with Zim. He was acting very much unlike himself, and Dib almost felt scared because of it. Almost.

But… that wasn't what got to him.

As he was leaving Zim's house, there was no doubt he remembered something odd about Zim's expression. A tint of bright red lined his face, and he was hanging his head down with all his power to hide it. He was blushing. Dib remembered letting go of Zim and turning just to see that he was in fact blushing. Was it because he was so close or the way he had touched him in? He was only gentle because he knew there was something wrong with Zim. But this was something Dib liked. It was almost like a weakness of Zim, a power Dib could use against him. The way he had melted into his hands so easily...

Zim, the cold, heartless monster, or alien Dib _should_ say, was blushing.

And Dib was going to use this as a power to break him down.


End file.
